Monday, August 24, 2020

Plato&Socrates Excellence in Virtue Essay Example for Free

PlatoSocrates Excellence in Virtue Essay â€Å"Socrates’ positive impact contacts us even today† (May 6) and we can become familiar with a lot about him from one of his understudies, Plato. It is in Plato’s report of Socrates’ preliminary a work entitled, Apology, and a friend’s visit to his prison cell while he is anticipating his demise in Crito, that we find a man like no other. Socrates was a man following a way he felt that the divine beings had needed him to follow and came up with no reasons for his life and they way he lived it. The section I have looked over Plato’s Apology is the primary entry to which Socrates put stock in until his demise and gave the reason for his life and they way he decided to carry on with his life. It is this section clarifies all of Plato’s compositions and maybe why even in carrying on with his own life he picked copy and follow Socrates and at last got one of his better-known understudies. To demonstrate this, the paper is composed into four areas. In the principal segment, I will give the key section, alongside some printed setting to give foundation subtleties. In the subsequent area, I will give some significant true to life/recorded data about the writer and the timespan for when the content was composed. In the third area, I will give a point by point investigation significance and contentions of my key entry and in the fourth segment; I will clarify the importance of three sections that help the key entry of the paper. Be that as it may, before we can move any further into this procedure, I will introduce my key section on which this paper is based. key section. â€Å"As long as I have breath and quality I won't surrender theory and urging you and announcing reality to all of you whom I meet, saying as I am acclimated, ‘My old buddy, you are a resident of Athens, a city which is exceptionally extraordinary and extremely well known for its intelligence and influence would you say you are not embarrassed about thinking about the creation of cash and for acclaim and glory, when you neither contemplate your shrewdness and truth and the improvement of your spirit? ’ On the off chance that he debates my words and says that he cares about these things I will not without a moment's delay discharge him and leave: I will address him and interrogate him and test him. On the off chance that I believe that he has not achieved greatness, however he says that he has, I will censure him for underestimating the most important things, and exaggerating those things that are less significant. This I will do to everybody whom I meet, youthful or old, resident or outsider, yet particularly to residents, since they are all the more firmly identified with me. This, you should perceive, the god has instructed me to do. What's more, I feel that no more noteworthy great has ever come to pass for you in the state than my support of the god. For I consume my entire time on earth in going about and convincing all of you to give your first and most prominent consideration to the improvement of your spirits, and not till you have done that to think about your bodies or your riches. What's more, I disclose to you that riches doesn't bring greatness, yet that riches and each other beneficial thing which men have, regardless of whether out in the open or in private, originate from greatness. † (Baird Kaufmann 29-30). In this section Socrates is our speaker and he is introducing his protection against the charges that have been brought against him by Meletus, Anytus, and Lycon. The charges they have brought against Socrates are for debasing the adolescent and revering divine beings other than the ones every single other Athenian loved around then in Ancient Greece. This section is one of ordinarily that Socrates exposes the way that what he has been doing by circumventing examining individuals concerning their convictions is directed by the divine beings and that he ought not be killed for doing what has been asked of him. Socrates presents commonly that what he is doing in attempting to get individuals to address what they accept, yet to take a shot at the improvement of their spirits. He accepts thus states in the entry that riches and distinction don't carry greatness to a person’s life, however you become a superior individual first by improving your spirit and that is really where greatness can be found. When an individual has done this then they can fret about different issues. Expressing that you first turn your consideration internal and afterward outward to the bigger society could summarize the general message of Socrates. While he doesn't unequivocally say this one could sensibly decipher from Socrates barrier that he accepts the explanation behind the charges that have been raised against him are because of an absence of comprehension by the Athenian open of his strategic reason just as the power he needs to do it. This is the thing that he is endeavoring to do in this section, clarify what he has been doing and that the divine force of all Athenians instructed him to accomplish this work and that he has done nothing incorrectly. chronicled/true to life data. In spite of the fact that Socrates ran no proper school, one can discover in any number of books on Plato, that he was an understudy of Socrates in Ancient Greece. As per Baird and Kaufmann Plato most likely initially started following Socrates some of the time in his twenties, however one can't make certain of the specific date (4). The Apology, alongside Crito, are only various writings composed by Plato on the lessons and convictions held by Socrates. â€Å"The Apology is for the most part viewed as one of Plato’s first and as prominently dedicated to what Socrates said at his preliminary on charges of scandalousness and debasement of the youth† (Baird Kaufmann 5). The hour of Socrates preliminary was around 399 B. C. in Athens, Greece and â€Å"many contemporary researchers keep up that Plato’s Apology was composing inside the initial a few years following Socrates’ preliminary and execution† (Brickhouse Smith 1). The charges against Socrates were defilement of the adolescent and venerating some other god as opposed to the ones usually held to be put stock in by different Athenians. It is essential to note as revealed by Brickhouse and Smith that, â€Å"Athens had just barely finished up the Peloponnesian War. The impacts of the war had been deplorable on her economy; groups accused each other for her thrashings, and doubt and force mongering were rife† (19). By this very actuality they were searching for somebody to fault for their issues and Socrates was a superb decision. It should not shock anyone â€Å"that Athenians searched for the liable among masterminds like Socrates. All things considered, by their extremely nature and paying little mind to their specific influences, such savvy challenge built up astuteness and tradition† (Brickhouse Smith 19). At that point the charges brought against Socrates and his preliminary were a game-plan that the Athenians could see nothing amiss with around then. Socrates was unquestionably a man before his time. Socrates was put being investigated for the scrutinizing he did of others since he was pushing individuals in their since quite a while ago held convictions, which presumably offered ascend to fear. Despite the fact that Socrates felt advocated in his activities many didn't hold that equivalent hypothesis. Truth be told, May states, â€Å"most individuals would be very aggravated on the off chance that somebody reprimanded their ethical convictions. Envision bantering with somebody who ceaselessly called attention to the shortcoming in your beliefs† (5). There are not very many individuals that when driven into why they accept what they do can for the most part think of a solid answer with respect to why they accept that way. As I would see it, a lot of what individuals have faith in depends on custom; either from your own family or socially and ordinarily happens as a blend of both. Plato’s discoursed are maybe a reasonable portrayal of Socrates’ lessons in any case, he doesn't give a reliable representation of Socrates (May 20). May goes onto state that â€Å"character ‘Socrates’ is depicted diversely in some of Plato’s discoursed on the grounds that in some of them. Plato is writing so as to account the authentic Socrates, though in others, Plato utilizes the character ‘Socrates’ as his very own mouthpiece philosophical position† (20). â€Å"Although Plato initially began to compose his discoursed so as to narrative the chronicled Socrates, he in the end began to compose exchanges that were committed to Plato’s genuine philosophical views† (20). It was this composing made Plato define his own perspectives trying to respond to a portion of the inquiries that Socrates had presented en route (May 20). Notwithstanding which Socrates is talking the message anyway is the equivalent in that greatness can be found in goodness over some other thing an individual may have. What's more, Socrates didn't do any thinking of himself so all we need to go on is the thing that Plato introduced to us in his different writings. anaylsis In this section, Socrates is telling the Athenian jury that he is blameless on the charges brought against him and why he is guiltless. This section is vital of comprehension and deciphering Plato’s compositions since it is a subject that is rehashed all through his works. Our character Socrates feels that individuals ought to be progressively worried about the culminating their spirits more than all else in their life. He accepts that in his mission to assist individuals with finding their direction he is really doing as the divine beings directed. Socrates additionally expresses that the main explanation his is savvy is on the grounds that he realizes that the main thing he knows is that he knows nothing worth knowing (Brickhouse Smith 129). Indeed he so states with all due respect when he says â€Å"I am more shrewd than this man; neither one of knows whatever is extremely worth knowing, yet he imagines that he has information when he has not, while I, having no information, do no believe that I have, I appear, at any rate, to be somewhat smarter than he is on this point: I don't have the foggiest idea what I don't know† (Baird Kaufmann 24). Socrates accepts that it is actually the divine beings that are insightful and people don't have any astuteness. He accepts that t

Saturday, August 22, 2020

The Moral Principles of Premarital Sex free essay sample

Having solid parental impact can likewise firmly influence the results of immaturity and causal sex. Furthermore, marriage can be powerless against the activities of pre-marriage sex, which can prompt disturbance or separation. Easygoing sex is a way people utilize each other as minor items and to fulfill one’s sexual wants prompting lost duty. Easygoing sex is characterized as having to a greater extent an emphasis on physical fulfillment then enthusiastic and coming up short on a feeling of duty. It can likewise be a concurrence with a more interesting or different accomplices that goes on for an extensive stretch of time (â€Å"Casual Sex,† 2011). The normal age of the primary sexual experience is at 17. 7 years as indicated by Hyde (2005). The principal sexual experience is amazingly important and sexual articulation can be formed dependent on experience. Customary considering sex has gotten uncommon, less preferred and not socially acknowledged. Mentalities in the public arena have changed, making sex progressively well known and less censured (Martin, 2003). We will compose a custom paper test on The Moral Principles of Premarital Sex or on the other hand any comparative subject explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Blame and outrage are regularly symptoms of easygoing sex, alongside lost duty for long haul connections, marriage frequently being disturbed, prompting the end pre-marriage sex isn't proper in any methods and ought not be drilled. American grown-ups who said easygoing sex wasn't right as closed to 75% or the populace in 1969. In the 1980’s, 33-37% of American grown-ups said pre-marriage sex wasn't right diminishing by about 40%. These adjustments in the American culture have happened in light of the substitution of preservationist ages from the mid twentieth century to a progressively liberal age later the century. The vacillations of supposition are likewise because of the age and social changes of every age, modifying the perspectives on individuals simultaneously (Harding amp; Jencks, 2003). The customary lessons of Christianity were not, at this point steady with the people’s confidence in America at this point and it is conceivable the connection between these convictions and strict perspectives changed after some time (Petersen amp; Donnenwerth, 1997). This regular acknowledgment of  premarital sex that is happening despite everything has the hidden issue of whether it is, truth be told, morally good to take an interest in easygoing sex and the impacts among ladies and men. Do Men’s and Women’s Effects Differ? As indicated by Else-Quest, Hyde, and DeLamater, men are bound to have easygoing sex to acquire physical fulfillment while ladies are bound to do it for closeness and to improve the relationship (2005). People may encounter sexual movement contrastingly as a result of the distinctions in their contents, which are found out procedures about sex. Men’s sexuality tends to not be exposed to relationship factors bringing about a distinction in experience by the two sexes. Some contend that these sexual encounters are significant for person’s sexual contents to create in light of the fact that it permits them to sort out the request for sexual acts and get familiar with the proper reactions and practices. Yet, these contents that are contended as permitting easygoing sex to proceed, don't generally create positive results. After some time, blame can emerge because of a hopeless encounter and could develop into sexual brokenness with long haul impacts. It is more probable for ladies in this general public to create blame in light of seeing easygoing sex rising to cherish. However, again it has been demonstrated that blame, strain, need or regard, and humiliation follows the activity of easygoing sex (â€Å"Premarital sex,: 2002-2012). Consequently, regardless of whether there might be an inspiration for easygoing sex in light of creating one’s content or satisfying a man’s physical fulfillment and a women’s closeness in a relationship, there are the equivalent passionate impacts and negative results that come about because of making part in pre-marriage sex.An move that was ethically right would not have egative enthusiastic and mental outcomes, which would finish up easygoing sex was not expected to be done before marriage. There is additionally another ramification for taking part in easygoing sex, for example, unsettling influence in later marriage. Sexual contents can be composed preceding marriage, giving information about their own capacities, prompting a steady marriage since they might have the option to settle on progres sively educated decisions concerning marriage. It is likewise likely for somebody to misconstrue physical closeness with passionate potential, prompting disturbance in marriage and settle on more awful conjugal decisions (Kahn, London, 1991). How is Marriage Effected? In today’s society, teenagers have a positive supposition about living together before marriage. The perspective on marriage as a foundation has blurred and dwelling together has taken another piece of this culture (Martin, Specter, Martin, amp; Martin, 2003). It has frequently been addressed whether pre-marriage sexual action makes relationships be disturbed. As per Teachman, Premarital sex and dwelling together has not been seen as associated with conjugal disturbance whenever restricted to a woman’s spouse (2003). In any case, Kahn and London invalidate this.

Sunday, July 19, 2020

Management Consultant Resume Examples, Templates Complete Guide

Management Consultant Resume Examples, Templates Complete Guide How do I make the best out of my resume? How can I increase my chances of going to the second round of interviews? Is it possible that I have been making some mistakes while creating my resume that thwarted my success?How Can I improve?Those and many other questions are what taunt each candidate each time they decide to send out a resume.Are those questions valid? Yes, yes they are. Creating a perfect resume is not just a matter of listing personal, educational, and experience information.Many recruiters and HR professionals have studied the ups and downs of summaries to come to a conclusion of how a perfect resume should look like and what pieces of information it should contain.We at Cleverism, have perfected the art of creating resumes! Our resume builder will make it easier to choose the right template, the right font, pick the right information and essentially put you and your resume at the top 10%.So, if you are in the process of looking for a new job, take a look at our resume builder, and find what suits you the most!If you are looking for the very first job ever, and are dreading writing about your non-existent experience, we have a solution for you as well.As if writing resumes is not stressful even if you have a great experience under your belt, you now feel like you have to highlight the lack thereof.You do not.We will show you how to emphasize other parts of your resume so that the lack of experience may even work to your advantage, rather than disqualify you from the job search.We have prepared this text for all of you aspiring Management Consultants with the idea to help you create the best resume of your life which will be a tool on the road to getting that promotion, that dream job, or reaching your very first professional milestone.What are some other questions that are going through your mind when you think about writing your resume? Is it something along the lines of what information you should include? How about the length of it? Keep it sh ort or let your pen run wild? How do you stand out among possibly hundreds of others?In this guide we will help you find the answers to those and many other questions you did not even know you had!You will learn to pick the right information, to order them in a way that is most logical to the recruiters, to highlight your strengths and mask your weaknesses.Our guide is not designed to ensure you get the job, we cannot make that guarantee.However, we do guarantee a larger number of callbacks and that you will be noticed during that first, impersonal round where all the recruiters are basing their choice on is your resume.The rest is pretty much on you and the fact whether you actually meet the job criteria.So, visit our resume builder.Have you picked a layout yet?Great!Let’s get started on creating your resume.We will start by showing you two great examples for a person of your interests, and then we will explain the requirements of each section, and the mistakes that can possibly sneak up on you, step by step.You can try to fill in the resume as we go, or you can make notes and do it later.Check yourself for any mistakes that you might have made in the past and correct them. You will be surprised how much damage a little mistake can do.Ready? Let’s start!!Consulting Resume Example: Helen Paul Right Management Consultant Resume Example: Kenneth Blind Right Create your own resumeAfter going through those two excellent examples of Management Consultant resumes for candidates with or without experience, you may already know how to fill out the template you have chosen from our resume builder.To check and have more of your questions answered to, read our section-by-section in-depth guide.TRICKS ON WRITING THE PERSONAL INFO SECTION OF A MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT RESUMEThe personal information section contains all the necessary information needed to contact you. It seems unlikely, but many resumes are discarded just based on personal information. The reason for that is not in the content, but in the manner in which they are presented.The most important thing here is to keep it professional.Let us go through the personal information subsections step by step.Your name Write your full name i.e. your first and last name. Avoid middle names, nicknames, and abbreviations. All of these make you look unprofessional and childish. If the recruiters see something like this, regardless of how strongly you identify with your nickname, for example, the chances of you getting an interview are slim to none.Profession i.e. the job you are applying for. Very often, a company will have more than one position open in that recruitment period so, specifying what you are applying for makes it easier for the recruiters to spot you.Photo â€" providing a photo is not obligatory in a conventional sense. IT is because some countries do not allow resumes with photos, while others require it. Both have valid reasons for that. Check the practices of the country you are applying for a job in, and act accordingly. If a photo is required make sure it is decent, that you are neatly combed and dressed. It should be a one-person headshot with a neutral background. If you do not have such a photo, ask a friend do make it or visit a studio, do not crop existing pictures.Address, e-mail, and phone number â€" those should be valid, and you should be available to answer a call during working hours (this is when you may expect an interview call). Provide your current address. Keep the e-mail professional as well- use trusted platforms like hotmail, Gmail, or yahoo, and make sure that the e-mail is easily connected to your full name.LinkedIn Account â€" Having a professional LinkedIn account is not obligatory, however it is considered that every contemporary job-seeker has one. It is easy to set up and it provides a great online extension to your resume.Additional information drivers’ or other licenses, social media and more. Provide them if you think that they may contribute to your job. E.g. you used social media to promote your consultant company.Name and EmailHelen Paulhelen.paul@yahoo.com RightName and EmailKenny Blind, Kenneth J. BlindOrKenneth B.K. Blindladyhelen@yahoo.com WrongWith our resume builder quickly add or remove sections as you need. And never worry that you will miss providing important information!SUMMARY SECTION TH AT’LL MAKE YOU A CONSULTANT IN NO TIME!Aside from the experience section, the summary section has proven the most difficult to write for the majority of candidates. It is because it seems as if it is almost completely a space to write whatever you want about yourself. It is not.It is your introduction to the recruiters which means it should have certain attention-grabbing aspects.What are those and how do you find them? The information you should include are given in the job description, use them as keywords.If the job description requires that you operate a certain program, say it, if they are looking for an experienced person-mention how much experience you have.Use the job description as a guideline.What are the most common mistakes candidates make on writing the summary?Length â€" the summary should be 2-3 sentences with specific information. Candidates who find it difficult to write about themselves will opt for a short, generic summary. The mistake with it is that it does no t provide any new information rather than restating the obvious “I want the job you are offering”. Others find it easy to write about themselves, and even if they do include some additional information, it gets lost somewhere in those sentences and other information, and the recruiters miss the important stuff.Content â€" When writing a summary you should highlight a couple of your accomplishments, which ones are determined by the job description. However, many candidates choose to put in the summary something that they want to emphasize, but it is not related to education, experience or skills. If that is the case, why include it in the resume at all?SummaryAn experienced, motivated and creative Management Consultant with 10+ years of experience in Management and Marketing is looking for a new job where I can help my clients reach their greatest potential. I am singlehandedly responsible for the 15% increase in sales over the last year in the previous job. Experienced in busine ss strategy and employee training, I am looking for a fresh working environment to progress more and share my experience. RightSummaryExperienced consultant is looking for a new job. WrongUse up our advice and fill in the summary section in the best possible way.WHAT REALLY MATTERS TO POINT OUT IN THE EXPERIENCE SECTIONThe key to writing the experience section is relevance. You should only write down the experience related to the job application. Summer camp tutoring or working in McDonalds before you got your first “real” job is not relevant.Aside from relevance, pay attention to list the experience in the reverse-chronological order. Start with the most recent one.Recruiters consider the experience acquired the latest as something you would be best at, and that is still fresh in your mind.Aside from providing pure facts on when, where, and in which position you have been working, give short descriptions of your duties and accomplishments (two lines each max).Mistakes that ar e made here:Crowding the section with irrelevant jobs making it more difficult for the recruiters to find what they are looking for.Not stating specific accomplishments. Right WrongWriting the experience section is especially tricky if you do not have any experience to show for. In this case, handling this section can make or break your chances at an interview. What is it that you can do?Emphasize your education over your experience. Either put the experience section under the education or leave it altogether. Deciding to write about any experience that is not related to your field of interest, is okay if you have a ready answer to how it prepared you for the job you are looking for.HOW TO WRITE THE EDUCATION SECTION AS A MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTWriting about the education section consists of writing about your formal education, and it may be the easiest part of creating a summary.You should start with the most recent point and work down to the first one. It is important that you state where you got your degree.It is not enough to say “BS in Management” without mentioning the institution in which you have received your degree.So, start by mentioning the school, and then add the accomplishments.If during your college years you have received scholarships, honors and awards, feel free to highlight them.This will show the recruiters that you are one of the rare ones. If you had a specifically noteworthy GPA, mention it.Also, mention the clubs you have participated in.The education section is particularly important if you do not have any experience, or if your experience is so scarce that putting an emphasis on education has more sense.If that is the case, put the education section right under the summary, and leave experience section for later, or leave it out altogether.Other information that you should include are any certificates or licenses that you have obtained, whether online or in continuing education.Make it a point that those information showcase your ability to successfully do the job you are applying for. Scuba-diving certificate does not count.To make things easier, we have provided you with an option to completely remove the sections, so you can choose a template with or without experience section, and you can add (or remove) as many information as you wish! Have filled in your education section yet? Right WrongTHE BEST WAY TO SHOWCASE YOUR MANAGEMENT CONSULTING SKILLSWriting the skills section is seemingly easy, and you might think that there is no room for mistakes there.You just put down everything you are good at, right?Well, wrong.The choice of skills that you want to improve should mirror the skills required in the job description.There is no need that you have them all, and it is not forbidden that you put down more than that, the key is to include those that you have and which match the job description. The choice of other skills that you desire to put down is on you.The thing that you should pay attention to is that you should not include skills that are relevant to the management, consulting or any other aspect of your job. If it somehow helps you do the job well, then include it.You can divide the skills into core skills and soft skills.Core skills are those which directly enable you to do your job like knowing a certain program or for example, accounting if your job will consist of managing finances.Soft skills are the personality traits that enable you to be a great consultant: great time management skills, people skills, communication.When you are listing the skills, establish an order. The usual way is to list the core skills and then the soft ones, however there is no rule that says you cannot reverse it.What you should not do is mix them up, and only for the sake of consistency and order. The recruiters spend only seconds skimming through your resume, so do not confuse them. Right WrongMake sure that you provide the level of knowledge of each skill. The recruiters will have a better picture of whether you are the person for the job if the skills are not just listed all on their own.Pick from a variety of grading options (descriptive, star-based, scale…) from our resume builder.TIPS TRICKS THAT GET MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS HIRED RIGHT AWAYKeep and regularly update a master resume. A master resume is a resume with all your experience, education and personal information. Have them listed at one place so that you do not forget some of it, or if for nothing else, it is quicker and easier to copy information than write it all over again.Tailor-make a resume for each job application. Do not make the mistake of sending out generic resumes, even if you create it on our builder. Even the slightest tweak according to the job description can make a huge difference.Steer clear of highlighting politically colored causes and accomplishments.Do not get discouraged. Finding a perfect job happens overnight only in movies. If you do not get a job that you have applied for that does not mean that you will not get the next one, or the next one.Before sending the resume, make sure to proofread it for either type-Os or content mistakes. Remove information you may find redundant, or add more if you need to. It is also advisable to have somebody else look at it, just so you do not miss something.Try to take a look at your resume from the HRs perspective and try to be as objective as possible. Compare the resume with the job requirements. Here, a colleague’s or a friend’s helpful hand can also point out misses and mistakes.Save your resume in a PDF format- un-editable, nice and neat.Practice answering interview questions. If you do not have an explanation or a reason why certain information found its place on your resume, it is better to remove them. Otherwise, you may seem unprepared.Use our resume builder. It will significantly improve your resume and yo ur resume-creating experience.FINAL THOUGHTSAnd voila- your perfect Management Consultant resume!We, here at Cleverism sincerely hope that you will get your dream job!   We have given you all the necessary information and showed you our best tips and tricks to create a resume that will help you achieve that.If you follow the guidelines you will surely be noticed among others, we are sure of that!Our last advice for you is to keep improving, master new skills that can help you be a better Management Consultant, invest in furthering your education, your current employers will appreciate that, and when you decide that it is time that you moved on, it will be easier to choose what to put on your next resume. Good luck! Create your own resume

Thursday, May 21, 2020

African Americans During The 20th Century - 1261 Words

Throughout the past couple hundred years, countless battles have been fought in order to eliminate race as a social divider. Perhaps the most influential time frame for African-Americans in the United States would be from 1940-1970. During this time in America, Blacks everywhere were fighting against segregation and discrimination of their race. Consequently, the timeline of events that occurred during this time uncovers the numerous battles that African-American people fought in order to gain their freedom, and their rights as Americans. While these battles seemed everlasting, African-Americans were more persistent than ever in their actions, and because of that, they succeeded. As African-American writer Margaret Walker once said, â€Å"Handicapped as we have been by a racist system of dehumanizing slavery and segregation, our American history of nearly five hundred years reveals that our cultural and spiritual gifts brought from our African past are still intact†. The major ity of America attempted to suppress African-Americans in the mid-twentieth century, but as a group, they grew stronger than ever. Icons such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and John F. Kennedy had extraordinary positive influences on the fight against segregation and discrimination in The United States of America. These great Americans pushed against the severe issues that African-Americans were facing, and refused to give up until changes were made. With pressures such as the Brown vs. Board ofShow MoreRelatedAfrican Americans During The 20th Century1667 Words   |  7 Pagesfor a better part of the 20th century, that what defined a person was merely the color of one’s skin. It is actually more complex than the definition provided. It is one’s life experiences, such as where one lives and the things one deals with. The experiences of African Americans in the 20th century have been similar, mostly experiencing lives filled with affliction. Rather than their sk in color, it was the hardships they faced that define what being an African American was all about. On a moreRead MoreAfrican Americans During The 20th Century3084 Words   |  13 Pages When looking at the social changes in American culture at the turn of the century, we see extraordinary differences in the accepted behaviours and thoughts of American citizens. The century saw a major shift in the way that people lived, with changes in politics, society, culture, economics, and technology. At the beginning of the century, discrimination based on race and sex was significant, but by the end of the 20th century, women had the same legal rights as men and racism had come toRead MoreAfrican Americans During The 20th Century Essay948 Words   |  4 Pagesby the media? There are a number of stereotypes associated with African Americans in our society such as African American men are athletes, rappers, criminals, deviant, streetwise, uneducated, and unemployed just to name a few. African Americans in the media have changed through the years. The history of African Americans on TV or minorities in general is hampered by the racial conflicts and segregation that are e mbedded in American society. Historically, black actors have been grouped stereotypicallyRead MoreRacism Against African Americans Became A Major Issue During The Mid -20th Century1032 Words   |  5 PagesRacism against African Americans became a major issue during the mid -20th century. Blacks became tired of the mistreatment they had to face every day, which is why multiple civil rights activists and groups were created in order to change the system. One of these activists, or should I say extremist, was known as the most noble after presenting his 17 minute speech â€Å"I Have a Dream,† given in 1963. He begins his speech painting a passionate picture of racial injustice. He talks about his dream thatRead MoreAfrican American Mothers in Movies662 Words   |  3 Pagesbirth. As people have certain ideas of how a mother acts and presents herself, there is a unique depiction particularly of African American mothers during the 20th century. At the Mothers in Movies event, w e were presented with different clips to analyze and discuss. The compilation of these clips surfaced different ideas held of African American mothers during the 20th century, such as conformity to social norms, aggressiveness, and tough love. In the clip from Love and Basketball, Monica and herRead MoreThe Jim Crow Laws And School Segregation810 Words   |  4 PagesDiscrimination was everywhere in the 20th century, and the population most affected by this were African Americans. Two of the most critical injustices committed in America during the 20th century were the development of the Jim Crow laws and school segregation. However, these injustices have been rectified as a result of the Civil Rights Movement and the decision of the supreme court of Brown v. Board of Education which brought important changes to African Americans. African Americans were deprived of many rightsRead MoreHuman Progress in the Twentieth Century Despite Two World Wars953 Words   |  4 Pages The world in the 20th century went through the destruction of World War I and World War II and the hazard of a nuclear war in the course of the Cold War and coped to revolutionize themselves with essential developments within their societies. The world, as a whole, has advanced more than it has suffered during the turbulent 20th century because of the advancements of innovations and human right, despite the demolition of the two World Wars. The 20th century inflicted the greatest suffering to theRead MoreThe Nadir of Race Relations by John Boles: Article Analysis897 Words   |  4 PagesRace Relations is to depict the social, economic, and, to a lesser extent, the political conditions for African Americans in the Southern part of the United States from approximately 1870 to 1930. These dates are of fairly significant importance, since they signal the historical epoch after the end of Reconstruction in which several laws and were passed to help enfranchise African Americans throughout the country and in the South in particular and the start of the Great Depression, the latter ofRead MoreThe Tyranny Of White Majority Essay1511 Words   |  7 Pagesand discrimination throughout the 19th and 20th century. Democratic reform throughout the century were implanted to eliminate the â€Å"tyranny of the white majority† Yet many scholars like Tocqueville, Fredrick Harris and WEB DuBois have challenged these results. The r eality is that the tyranny of white majority has continued throughout the 18th to the 21st century resulting in a society that has suppressed and constantly failed to integrate African American into the white society by neglecting the raceRead MoreLatino Americans And Hispanic Americans1114 Words   |  5 PagesHispanic Americans are the largest minority group in the United States. They make up approximately 16 percent of the country s population. They are considered both an ethnic and a racial minority group. Their language, a cultural characteristic, identifies them as an ethnic minority group. Their physical appearance identifies Hispanic-Americans as a racial minority group (Healy 2012). The majority of the Hispanic American population is located in the southwest part of the country. The three largest

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Advertising Modern Day Brainwashing Essay - 3202 Words

Brainwashing and Mind Control are â€Å"best thought of as a series of techniques that are used over time to shape a person’s perception, cognition, emotions, decision making and behavior to such an extent that they have lost their freedom of choice† (Mind Control Today). These techniques, once in existence within authoritarian and totalitarian governments, are increasingly being practiced by advertising companies and mass media. There are extensive similarities among the political and economic standards that cause negative impacts on society, as a result of adopting these mind control tactics. As Malcom X pointed out, â€Å"The media is the most powerful entity on earth, because they control the minds of the masses†. Advertisers and corporations†¦show more content†¦Advertisers and marketing companies are mostly interested in subliminal manipulation because by targeting consumers’ subconscious mind, they can control their involuntary actions, emotions and beliefs. The subconscious part of our mind is able to process around 20,000 pieces of information per second, where as our conscious part can only cope with about forty. This function explains why any subliminal message that our subconscious receives, can be received and responded to by consumers without them ever being aware of it. This form of mind control can be very powerful if used correctly, it could influence consumers to want and buy a product without their control (Winder). The result of mind control can be identified in persons who end up developing different beliefs and values. Once this controlling process grows in multiple different ways for a long period of time, it results in brainwashing. Interestingly enough, according to Steve Hassan, in brainwashing, the manipulator is the hostile enemy, where as in mind control the manipulator is a friend, a helper, and the targeted person is a willing participant in the situation. The goal of the advertiser, as a manipulator, is to destroy the consumer’s old identity and create a new one that holds the beliefs, values, and ideas of the manipulator (Mind Control Today). We are often lessShow MoreRelatedSubliminal Advertising and Modern Day Brainwashing6639 Words   |  27 PagesThe advertising industry, a prominent andpowerful industry, engages in deceptive subliminal advertising which most us are unaware of. By bypassing our unconscious mind using subliminal techniques, advertisers tap into the vulne rabilities surrounding our unconscious mind, manipulating and controlling us in many ways. Since the 1940 s subliminal advertising blossomed until now, when you can find subliminals in every major advertisement and magazine cover. Legislation against the advertisers has hadRead MoreSubliminal Messages Are The Popular Phenomenon Of Mind Control1423 Words   |  6 Pagessupposedly boost concentration or other mental processes had been heard of before. However, there was no idea that these things were subliminal messages, because the assumption was that subliminals were more like hypnosis or direct mind control and brainwashing, not more subtle like these examples. Overall, there was minimal knowledge about the true nature of subliminal messaging when research was started. Scientists have learned a multitude of things about subliminal messages since the idea was firstRead MoreTelevision And Its Impact On Children1309 Words   |  6 Pagespositive. On the less fictional side of the small screen, the 24-hours news cycle began and sensationalized opinions exploded. Faced with a rapid degree of transformation from their own childhoods to the present, people found themselves asking if modern television was having negative repercussions on adults as well. And amidst the ongoing conflict with content, commercials rose and with them ideas that physical products would lead to a higher quality of life. While some concerns might be undeservedRead MoreEssay on The Danger of Subliminal Advertising1438 Words   |  6 PagesIn modern society, advertisements and the media bombard Americans every single day. Television advertisements, movies, radio, and even Spam mail have become a daily part of the lives of many citizens. However, most people do not realize the sini ster methods advertisers and corporations employ with the media in order to obtain a profit. The use of subliminal and negative advertising has increased immensely and shows no plan of stopping anytime soon. This dangerous ploy manipulates the public and causesRead MoreThe Problem Of Advertisement, Celebrity Imaging, And Through Many Other Facets Of One s Daily Life1261 Words   |  6 Pageslooks like. â€Å"A technique which is the mainstay of advertisement companies, of personal photo-editing, and of image manipulation in general bears the overtones of a mannerist praxis carried over from the sixteenth century to the twentieth-first.† Advertising is the primary use to modified images/photoshopped images and is the backbone to this silent epidemic. Advertisement is to blame for the degradation of women. Women’s progression for gender equality is being slowed down by what is being shown onRead MoreEssay on Television665 Words   |  3 Pages The impact that television (A.K.A.- TV) has had on mankind in the last 50 years, is rivaled by few other inventions throughout modern history. Recently television has been given a bad wrap, seen by many people as a cruel invention, a boob-tube; mesmerizing and brainwashing its viewers. People have forgotten TV is an educational and entertaining tool used in the everyday lives of people around the world. Without TV and its many advantages where would the world be at this very moment, certainlyRead MoreBrainwashing Youth : How Advertising Influences Children On Gender Images1496 Words   |  6 Pages Brainwashing Youth: How Advertising Influences Children on Gender Images For advertising companies, the topic of advertising to children is one that is very controversial and could lead to a lot of debate on whether it is even ethical to do so. None the less advertisements continue to be aired and targeted towards a particularly vulnerable group: children. At a young age it is a critical time for children. They are not only developing their mental and physical capabilities, but they are also developingRead MoreEssay on Advertising to Children 1013 Words   |  5 PagesThey see it; they want it. Advertising to children is turning a want into a responsive nag to a parent, like a reflex. Every media outlet advertises, and companies like popular fast food restaurants target children. In the process of fattening the children, will their reflexes get slower? At some point in every kid’s life, they see an advertisement for a food or toy they want. This want leads to nagging of the parent until they give in. Although it is highly effective and profi table, fast foodRead MoreHow Characteristics Of Culture Maintain Capitalist Society1664 Words   |  7 Pagesmass deception, as the backbone of my analysis. This will be accomplished by assessing aspects of society such as: monopoly capitalism, the entertainment industry and relevance to modern day society. This paper argues that capitalism transformed culture into an ideological means of domination, and acts as brainwashing tool over the masses. Capitalism in The Concise Encyclopedia of Sociology is defined as: â€Å"the system that provides for needs and wants, animated by a particular ethos, coordinatedRead More Advertising and Its Impact on Children Essays1552 Words   |  7 Pages Advertising has had a powerful impact on today’s children. From songs, to logos, to characters, advertisers keep in mind their audiences. Competition is the force which causes advertisers to target children. Children are targeted through the catch phrases, animated characters, and toys in these competitive advertisements. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The textbook used in class (Huffman, 2002) describes that â€Å"advertising has numerous† methods to hook the individual into â€Å"buying their products

The Market for Online Education Free Essays

string(140) " grading assignments of hundreds of thousands of students requires using automated software, which can only grade multiple choice problems\." Introduction Traditional education is designed around face-to-face communication in a physical classroom. Educational institutions are required to pay for costly inputs, the costs of which are spread out over a limited number of students. It is no surprise then that this education delivery model has produced a 550% increase in the cost of tuition at U. We will write a custom essay sample on The Market for Online Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now S. universities since 1985 (Vella, 2012). In addition to this, most universities are run by non-profit trusts or governments, where there is little pressure to innovate and fully utilize the physical and intellectual resources of the institution. With this backdrop, online courses are offering low-cost learning alternatives, which are customized for needs of customers, and are available without regard to space and time for different groups of customers worldwide. Over time, attitudes of students and employers towards online education are also improving. Finally, new private companies are coming up to offer customized solutions often backed by cloud computing platforms, though they still lack the brand recognition of traditional universities. This paper will examine the limitations of traditional educational methods and explore sources of demand and supply of online education with a view towards how innovative business models such as crowdsourcing and technology infrastructures such as cloud computing are creating change in online education (Weld et al., 2012). Evolution of Online Education Traditional education delivery in thousands of universities globally is designed around transfer of knowledge from teachers to students via face-to-face, lecture based interaction in physical classrooms. At the outset, this imposes the limit of physical capacity of the classroom on the number of individuals who can enrol in the class. In comparison, recent advances in information and communication technologies have enabled alternative online education delivery mechanisms, which can optimize educational delivery in a cost-efficient manner for a large number of users. Online education can be defined as a new social process which utilizes digital technology to partially or fully substitute traditional classroom learning methods, optimized for learners without the barriers of a traditional educational setup (Hiltz Turoff, 2006). Allen and Seaman (2013) define online education to include courses where at least 80% of the course content is delivered online. These courses are delivered ove r the Internet and include significant use of digital media, data storage and communication technologies such as computer-assisted instruction, group communications, use of immersive simulations, gaming and asynchronous learning networks, collaborative knowledge systems and use of wireless and handheld devices. Online education offers different sets of opportunities to different organisations and individuals. For existing educational institutions, it offers a way to increase enrolment or reach a different type of audience such as corporate training. For start-ups looking to shake up the education ‘industry’, it offers the opportunity to compete with traditional universities on different bases of competition, such as price, program duration or class timing. For others, it offers the opportunity for lifelong learning or the opportunity to learn from professors of top universities. Surveys show that the number of students taking online learning courses is on the rise. Allen and Seaman (2013) report that the total number of students in the U.S. taking at least 1 online course during 2012 has increased to 6.7 million, representing 32% of the total student population of 21 million students. In an endorsement of the online learning platform, 77% of academic leaders believe that online learning leads to better learning outcomes than face-to-face instruction. On the major obstacles that are holding back the growth of online education, the authors believe that most faculty members still do not have a positive view about online learning. 40% believe employers have reservations about online degrees. Product Offerings Online education is influencing different tiers of the market in different ways. Firstly, in traditional universities, more and more fully online classes are being developed, and technology is finding its way into more traditional classes as well. Many universities now offer online only classes for their students. In addition, universities such as Georgia Tech are creating tailor made degrees for corporations such as ATT. This setup benefits the university which gets an extra revenue stream and also ATT which gets high-end skills training for its employees on the job (Kitroeff, 2014). In addition, some new, non-traditional universities have also been set up. These online universities, such as the University of Phoenix, replicate the existing university model but without a physical campus, utilizing online content delivery. A different model has also been developed by some traditional universities such as MIT and Stanford. In partnership with private start-up companies such as Coursera and EdX, these institutions are putting together free classes open to global masses known as massive open online courses (MOOC). These courses are available to all the students in the world who have Internet access and some of these classes boast registrations in hundreds of thousands. Currently, nearly 3% of institutions of higher education in the US are offering MOOCs while another 10% are in the planning process of offering MOOCs (Allen Seaman, 2013). Coursera is also expanding into China with its more than 1 million online learners (Larson, 2014). However, it is not clear how MOOC offerings will be financed (Anderson, 2012). The author points out that giving away content for free usually never turns out to be good business model. Suggestions for revenue generation include subscription and charging employers who want to hire successful students. Another issue is how to ascertain the identity and actual completion of work by a given individual. Udacity, another start-up has devised a solution by offering physical testing facilities in different countries where students can take certification exams in a supervised environment. While they are becoming increasingly popular, MOOCs offer limited customization. In comparison, some start-up education companies are exploring the idea of customized learning enabled by ‘crowdsourcing’. Crowdsourcing is a term which defines the development of an online community whose physically dispersed members may be called upon to provide results online to a given problem. One limitation of MOOCs is that grading assignments of hundreds of thousands of students requires using automated software, which can only grade multiple choice problems. You read "The Market for Online Education" in category "Essay examples" This solution does not work very well in the humanities and social sciences. A crowdsourcing-based solution is to use peer evaluation for this purpose. These learning environments also deploy other technology enabled learning techniques such as using software to analyse common mistakes made by large groups with the highest frequency. Significant insights can be gained into human learning from observing such errors and analyzing their causes. Other automated software agents can crawl the web for useful resources pertaining to the course and collect it on a new website. Additional functionalities that can be offered by machine learning systems include services that link students with particular needs with tutors with skills suitable for teaching those subjects. Role of technology in the online education ecosystem Central to this paradigm shift in education is the Internet and technology revolution. A key enabling innovation in this regard is the development of a low-cost services model known as cloud computing. Cloud computing is an umbrella terms which describes how computers, servers, and applications and processes on those servers can be networked together in a distributed computing platform to create scalable infrastructure which enables users to connect from anywhere and using any device. Cloud computing may be considered an extension of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), which is a software design which makes it easy for computers on a network to cooperate. An institution or group of institutions that gets together to develop a cloud computing based platform needs to develop content and services that can reside inside the cloud since not all applications are cloud enabled (Mircea Andreescu, 2011). Cloud computing is a way of designing a network in blocks, not all of which need to be owned or operated by one university. Instead some components of infrastructure, or the platform or the software or even the computing power itself may be owned and managed by service providers who allow the university to pay for them on an ongoing, pay-per-use basis (Matthew, 2012). Cloud enabled service delivery enables access to educational content by anyone, anywhere on a pay-per-use basis, thus enabling deployment of scalable educational services. If a substantial number of users exist, the cost per user and thus the fee charged to the user can be lowered substantially compared to traditional educational institutions (Moore, 2011). This can have several other advantages for institutions as well. For example, institutions can combine resources with others to share a cloud, and then focus on content creation to focus on their strength and outsourcing the IT services to a large degree. The new business models will begin with market need identification, and then deploying a solution to meet that need, offering a high return on investment (ROI). A major university offering a global MOOC would need a very different platform than a commercial service offering English as Second Language in China and cloud computing would allow each to have the right cost and infrastructure for the size of the opportunity. A lot of effort is going into the development of each of the elements of online education. These include digital books, grading software, intelligent software agents, cloud computing infrastructure and tablets. Amazon is also selling more digital books than paper books and it is now even possible for students taking online classes to rent their textbooks for limited time (Schuetze, 2011). Through its success, online education seems to be substituting traditional education (Mehaffy, 2012). This phenomenon has been labelled by Christensen Eyring (2011) as the process of ‘disruption’. ‘Disruptive technologies’ are championed by new companies which do not compete with the incumbents along the existing bases of competition, but offer new and often low-cost product to a previously underserved group of consumers. Once successful in their niches, they increase volume, improve product quality and unseat incumbents in the high end of the market. Alternatively, disruption forces incumbents to change their business models. One of the reasons the education market seems ripe for disruption is the high cost of university education which makes the high-end of the market out of reach for many students. Some of the new business models in online education offer lower cost alternatives for those average students. In response, several mainstream universities are already considering lowering the residency requirement of their degrees to lower the total cost of earning them, while considering how to improve their online courses. While it may be too early to predict how successful they will be, for now the online education market seems set to grow globally. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that online education is a powerful business model because it can service large underserved segments of the education market at low average cost (Gaytan, 2007). It is a solution for those who could previously not afford the high cost of education or may only need to develop certain job related skills or they may be lifelong learners. Deployment of digital content and software over a cloud enabled distributed computing network is the first step towards infrastructure development required for online learning platforms. More high-quality content is required together with ingenious business models to take online education to the next level of success. Recommendations While they do not face any immediate threats, existing educational institutions will need to adapt their business models in order to not become obsolete. At a minimum, they should consider ways of reducing their cost without diluting the experience. Traditional universities have a strong competitive advantage – they offer a period of residence in an academic community. This is difficult to replicate for online institutions. Online universities should consider partnerships for revenue and content sharing with traditional institutions in order to build their brands quicker. Without brand acceptance, they will never be able to compete with traditional universities. Start-ups should focus on helping develop those innovations that increase the return on investment in new business models for educational service providers to encourage innovation and investment in technology supporting online education. Bibliography Allen, I. E., Seaman, J. 2013. Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States. Sloan Consortium. PO Box 1238, Newburyport, MA 01950. Anderson, N. 2012. Elite education for the masses. The Washington Post, 4. Christensen, C. M., Eyring, H. J. 2011. The innovative university: Changing the DNA of higher education from the inside out. John Wiley Sons. Conn, S. S., Reichgelt, H. 2012. Cloud Computing in Support of Applied Learning: A Baseline Study of Infrastructure Design at Southern Polytechnic State University. In Proceedings of the Information Systems Educators Conference ISSN (Vol. 2167, p. 1435). Gaytan, J. 2007. Visions shaping the future of online education: Understanding its historical evolution, implications, and assumptions. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 10(2). Hiltz, S. R., Turoff, M. 2005. Education goes digital: The evolution of online learning and the revolution in higher education. Communications of the ACM,48(10), 59-64. Larson, C. 2014. Coursera’s plan for online education: Expansion in China. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved on 28 October, 2014 from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-27/coursera-ceo-richard-levin-plans-to-expand-the-company-in-china. Kitroeff, N. 2014. Why ATT is investing in virtual school. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved on 28 October, 2014 from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-24/at-and-t-and-former-google-vp-back-georgia-tech-online-degree-program. Mathew, S. 2012. Implementation of Cloud Computing in Education – A Revolution. International Journal of Computer Theory and Engineering, 4(3), 473 – 475. Mehaffy, G. L. 2012. Challenge and change. Educause Review, 47(5), 25-42. Mircea, M., Andreescu, A. I. 2011. Using cloud computing in higher education: A strategy to improve agility in the current financial crisis. Communications of the IBIMA, 2011, 1-15. Moore, J. C. 2012. A Synthesis of Sloan-C Effective Practices, December 2011. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(1), 91-115. Schuetze, C. F. 2011. Textbooks finally take a big leap to digital. The New York Times. Vella, M. (2012). Is higher education doomedFortune. Retrieved on October 28, 2014 from http://fortune.com/2012/07/18/is-higher-education-doomed/. Yuan, L., Powell, S., CETIS, J. 2013. MOOCs and open education: Implications for higher education. Cetis White Paper. Weld, D. S., Adar, E., Chilton, L., Hoffmann, R., Horvitz, E., Koch, M., Mausam, M. 2012. Personalized online education—a crowdsourcing challenge. In Workshops at the Twenty-Sixth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence. How to cite The Market for Online Education, Essay examples

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Material Culture as Media Communication

The prevailing culture in a society influences individual and collective perceptions of materials belonging to people in a given culture. Artefacts, adornments, and other objects within a culture are also perceived within the realm of cultural beliefs and practices (Appadurai 304). However, different groups of persons within a society give different interpretations to such artefacts, objects, and adornments.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Material Culture as Media Communication specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In many parts of the world, the mobile phone has acquired a certain level of symbolism that stretches beyond its prototypical function of communication. Through various and constant improvements on its use, the mobile phone has come to imply and project different meanings to various persons in different societies across the world. According to Pfaff, for the people of East Africa, mobile phone is much more than a communication gadget (343). Firstly, mobile phone is a predictor of social status; for instance, a person with an expensive (looking) mobile phone is deemed to be economically above average. For teens and youth, mobile phones are communication gadgets, an entertainment medium – used to play stored music inside the mp3-enabled mobile phones – and a mini-radio from which they get their sports and entertainment news. Most teens and youth also use their mobile phones for the Internet access. The same is true for most teens all over the world. For the elderly in East Africa, mobile phone is strictly viewed as a gadget for basic communication. For the businesspeople in the region, mobile phone is a tool for facilitating business transactions, as well as for sending and receiving money. Similarly, a ring on any finger connotes different things in different cultures across the world. In many Judaeo-Christian societies, the ring on the â€Å"ring finger’ indicat es the wearer is married. When the ring is worn on other fingers, it means/projects different perspectives in modern societies (Heisley and Cours 430). Many youths wear a ring to convey their vows of remaining virgin until marriage. Sometimes rings made of expensive materials like gold or diamonds are simply worn as a form of adornment. Another form of adornment, a stud, also projects different meaning in various societies. Ladies wear earrings/studs as a form of beauty enhancer; consequently, the society perceive earrings as a female adornment. However, in modern-day cultures, males also wear earrings. When a man puts on a stud, on one ear, it could signify his homophile sexual orientation.Advertising Looking for essay on communication strategies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Believers wear the crucifix symbol, a powerful symbol in the Christian society (especially for those of Catholic faith), on the neck for different pu rposes. Some believers wear the crucifix to offer them a form of spiritual guidance and they get a sense of comfort from the same. On the other hand, unbelievers wear the crucifix simply as a form of jewellery, especially the ones made from precious stones. Finally, the head cap is another signifier that plays a role in the material culture of many societies in the world. In the religious sphere, the cap is used as a symbol of one’s religion. The Catholic cardinals, Jewish rabbis, and Muslim faithful wear head caps to signify their different religions. In many of the disciplined forces of the world such as the police, the cap signifies ranks and seniority within the force. Many people in society also wear caps for the ordinary purpose of enhancing their looks. Therefore, different adornments, objects and/or artefacts carry different meanings to different people in a given culture. Works Cited Appadurai, Arjun. The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Ca mbridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Heisley, Deborah, and Deborah Cours. â€Å"Connectedness and Worthiness for the Embedded Self: A Material Culture Perspective.† Consumption, Markets Culture 10.4 (2007): 425-450. Pfaff, Julia. â€Å"A mobile phone: mobility, materiality and everyday Swahili trading practices.† Cultural Geographies 17.3 (2010): 341-357. This essay on Material Culture as Media Communication was written and submitted by user Kash Wiggins to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Free Essays on Brewing Excellence-The Case Of Starbucks Corporation

Starbucks have started its business in 1971 by opening a shop in Seattle's Pike Place Market. Until 1986 their operations were mainly in the area of Seattle, but from that year they started their expansion in other cities in the U.S. by opening coffee shops. Today Starbucks is operating 6,294 coffee retail shops throughout the world. How does Starbucks deliver good experience to customers? The company objective is to establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected brand in the world. Their goal is to deliver the best service to their customers and also to deliver the best taste of the coffee. They are purchasing and roasting high quality whole bean coffee. They have variety of brand names which are widely known throughout the world and they are not only sold in their retail shops but also in the supermarkets. In their retail stores you can taste more than 30 types of different coffees, but you can also find â€Å"Tazo† tea, Starbucks ice cream, food, sweets, and many other things which make their stores a pleasant environment. Furthermore they are trying to introduce new products and develop new distribution channels in order to achieve their objectives. There are many interesting services offered by Starbucks to their customers but we would like to mention only few which make them different from other retail stores. For instance the Starbucks Corporati on has introduced â€Å"The Starbucks Card† which gives the ability to their customers to use the card as a form of a currency. With the introduction of this card they are improving their customer service; they shorten the lines in stores, and make a person’s daily stop at Starbucks quicker and more convenient. Additionally, the card is so technologically advanced that it is actually faster to use than a credit card, debit card, or even cash. Next interesting service they offer to their customers is the wireless internet connection in their coffee shops. They provide custom... Free Essays on Brewing Excellence-The Case Of Starbucks Corporation Free Essays on Brewing Excellence-The Case Of Starbucks Corporation Starbucks have started its business in 1971 by opening a shop in Seattle's Pike Place Market. Until 1986 their operations were mainly in the area of Seattle, but from that year they started their expansion in other cities in the U.S. by opening coffee shops. Today Starbucks is operating 6,294 coffee retail shops throughout the world. How does Starbucks deliver good experience to customers? The company objective is to establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected brand in the world. Their goal is to deliver the best service to their customers and also to deliver the best taste of the coffee. They are purchasing and roasting high quality whole bean coffee. They have variety of brand names which are widely known throughout the world and they are not only sold in their retail shops but also in the supermarkets. In their retail stores you can taste more than 30 types of different coffees, but you can also find â€Å"Tazo† tea, Starbucks ice cream, food, sweets, and many other things which make their stores a pleasant environment. Furthermore they are trying to introduce new products and develop new distribution channels in order to achieve their objectives. There are many interesting services offered by Starbucks to their customers but we would like to mention only few which make them different from other retail stores. For instance the Starbucks Corporati on has introduced â€Å"The Starbucks Card† which gives the ability to their customers to use the card as a form of a currency. With the introduction of this card they are improving their customer service; they shorten the lines in stores, and make a person’s daily stop at Starbucks quicker and more convenient. Additionally, the card is so technologically advanced that it is actually faster to use than a credit card, debit card, or even cash. Next interesting service they offer to their customers is the wireless internet connection in their coffee shops. They provide custom...

Monday, March 2, 2020

Punctuation with Attribution

Punctuation with Attribution Punctuation with Attribution Punctuation with Attribution By Mark Nichol An attribution is a phrase that describes who said or wrote something. It is stated parenthetically before, in the midst of, or after a statement or question (it is basically an introductory phrase that can be located elsewhere than at the head of a sentence), but writers often erroneously omit a comma required to help frame the attribution. The following sentences illustrate variations in this type of error, and discussion and revision following each one explains and demonstrates correct treatment. 1. In the future, Smith says she looks forward to having her team work more with data analytics. Without a comma after says to correspond to the one following future, this sentence appears to awkwardly state that it is known in the present that in the future Smith will say that she looks forward to having her team work with more data analytics. But â€Å"Smith says† is an attribution, so the phrase should be bracketed by a pair of commas: â€Å"In the future, Smith says, she looks forward to having her team work more with data analytics.† 2. As rooftop solar panels become more common, company executives say they need new products that will distinguish the business from its many competitors. The error in this sentence is not as obvious as the one in the previous example. However, the implication here is that the company executives are making a statement at the same time as rooftop solar panels become more common. This may be technically accurate, but it’s not the point of the sentence. â€Å"Company executives say† interrupts the sentence to identify the source of the statement: â€Å"As rooftop solar panels become more common, company executives say, they need new products that will distinguish the business from its many competitors.† 3. There are about 365.25 days in a year according to NASA. Because of the lack of internal punctuation in this sentence, it appears to quantify the number of days in a specific typed of year- one that is according to NASA. An attribution, regardless of whether it precedes, interrupts, or follows a statement, should be set off from that statement. If the attribution appears at the head or tail of the sentence, however, only one comma is necessary to set it off from the main clause: â€Å"There are about 365.25 days in a year, according to NASA.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Opening Lines to Inspire the Start of Your Story"Have" vs "Having" in Certain Expressions10 Tips for Clean, Clear Writing

Saturday, February 15, 2020

International business management Strategic Information Management Essay

International business management Strategic Information Management - Essay Example SIM is important because information tends to become vague and complicated and very often it can be Organisational Activity can demonstrate a lack of quality in the information.2 A Strategic Information System (SIS) aligns itself with the management strategy and the structure of a Firm and allows the timely response to changes recurring in the business environment and competition issues.3 Wiseman (1985) has defined the strategic information system (SIS) as, "The information system to support or change enterprise's strategy."4 The general perspective of Information management involves a reference to the management of any kind of information .This may involve document management, electronic document management records management, document imaging, process automation and digital asset management.(Wiseman 1985) Historically information management was subject to the nuances of bureaucratic procedures and had a limited role in management decisions.(Galliers 1991).The potential of profit by information management systems has only emerged in the recent decades and the modern businesses view information as a weapon against competition and a strategic resource. (Galliers 1991).The former attitude changed radically in the mid-sixties when organisations started viewing information as a tool for general management support. Until the decade of the eighties however information management was limited to weekly financial and management reporting and accounts of inventory and arrears.(Galliers 1991) During the early nineties these information systems emerged as serving a special purpose. At this point information systems like decision-support systems (DSS)5 and executive support systems (ESS)6 became popular with the main aim of support and the fast expedition of the decision-making process of organisations (managers and executives). (Swatman 1995). Prominent examples of Strategic information systems have included the use of SABRE and APOLLO by the US Airlines in the past for the increase in travel bookings of these Carriers by making sure their names appeared on the first screens of the travel agents.7 In the recent times Information has emerged as a strategic resource to gain competitive advantage, as well as to defeat and frustrate the competition. (Porter 1985).An important example quoted by Porter (1985) of information management is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 the philosophy behind which was to manage information by requiring federal government agencies to develop an information resource officer's role. Such systems being an integral part of SIM ensure the organisations survival in the fast track corporate world. Porter(1985) has also identified a value chain model to help identify problem areas in information systems in order to supply a strategic advantage. Porter (1980) has also identified the competitive forces model which describes a number of external threats and opportunities which can be countered by competitive strategies. See below for a model diagram of both these concepts. The potential of information systems is immense as it can be developed to not only defeat rivals but also to counter the pressure from competing substitutes and an

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Can Alkaline Diets Prevent Cancer Research Paper

Can Alkaline Diets Prevent Cancer - Research Paper Example Amid the rising cases of cancer, the main question is; what actually went wrong after the widespread industrial revolution that cancer and other degenerative diseases have become close components of human life? The answer could be very simple; our eating habits. Before the advent of industrial revolution, human beings survived on natural food substances with balanced amount of minerals that boosted the body immune system as well as performing detoxification. Today, because of industrialization we embrace consumption of processed foods rather than the natural diets. Going by the evident trend in the manner in which cancer spreads today or simply comparing and contrasting the lifestyles of agrarian periods and the current industrial periods, it is determinate that consumption of natural food is the surest way of preventing cancer (Earl 292). In this case, natural foods are considered as food substances rich in alkaline or high pH values. The main alkaline food substances are citrus fruits, fresh vegetables, nuts, legumes and seeds. Alkaline food substances do not encompass substances like grains, excess salt, excess dairy products or meat. Earl states that alkaline food substances play a significant role in ensuring preventing an individual from developing cancerous cells (292). It is however not stated that an individual should not consume acidic food substances, but at regulated low amount. This is because acid is usually required for digestion purposes in the stomach but should always be at the pH of 1.3-1.75. In order to fight cancerous cells, blood and not the stomach requires a high alkalinity level, pH of 7.34-7.46. The reason why a high proportion of acid is never essential for the body is because it results to the development of toxins that suppress the body immune system thereby inhibiting cells from absorbing oxygen. Further accumulation of acid and inhibited supply of oxygen lays ground for

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Alienation in Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie Essay -- Tennes

Alienation in Tennessee Williams', The Glass Menagerie Life is a lonely tale of alienation, as Tennessee Williams conveys though his play, â€Å"The Glass Menagerie.† Williams surrounds Laura in isolation from a world in which they wish to belong to by using various symbols. The symbolic nature of the motifs hidden within the lines of this play provides meaning to the theme found consistent throughout the play: Individuals are all alone in the world. Williams brilliantly illuminates the idea of isolation through the symbolic use of glass. The symbolism of the glass is directly connected with the character of Laura. Similar to glass Laura is extremely fragile, her soul and image faces the possibility of being easily damaged and destroyed. Her character is tragically transparent as it is simple to decipher. However, glass objects, unlike a painting or photograph, have three dimensions. It is possible to examine every side of Laura’s fragile character, just as it is a glass figurine. Laura is trapped into a mold of glass, unable to move or break from its pattern; she is trapped in her own world of alienation. Yet, in a different light, glass reflects a rainbow of personality and beauty. Similar to the rainbow given off by glass Laura aids characters in achieving a sense of beautiful and colorful self-awareness. Williams contrasts light and dark to bring attention to Laura’s isolation from the world, and illuminate it as moments of the beauty that exists in huma...

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Bloodlines Chapter Twenty-Four

IT'S WEIRD how you react in moments of immediate danger. Part of me was pure panic, complete with racing heart and rapid breathing. That hollow feeling, the one that felt like a hole had opened in my chest, returned. Another part of me was able to still inexplicably think along logical lines, mostly something like, Yup, that's the kind of knife that could slit a throat. The rest of me? Well, the rest of me was just confused. I stayed where I was and kept my voice low and even. â€Å"Lee, what's going on? What is this?† He shook his head. â€Å"Don't pretend. I know you know. You're too smart. I knew you'd figure it out, but I just didn't expect you to do it so soon.† My mind spun. Once again, someone thought I was smarter than I was. I supposed I should be flattered by his faith in my intelligence, but the truth was, I didn't know what was going on yet. I didn't know if betraying that would help or hinder me, though. I decided to play cool for as long as I reasonably could here. â€Å"That's you in the picture,† I said, careful not to make it a question. â€Å"Of course,† he said. â€Å"You haven't aged.† I dared a quick look at the picture, just to ascertain that for myself. It still baffled me. Only Strigoi were ageless, staying immortal at the age they'd turned. â€Å"That's†¦ that's impossible. You're Moroi.† â€Å"Oh, I've aged,† he said bitterly. â€Å"Not a lot. Not enough that you can really spot it, but believe me, I can. It's not like how it used to be.† I was still clueless, still not sure of how we had reached a point where Lee – starry-eyed and lovesick for Jill – was suddenly threatening me with a knife. Nor did I understand how he looked exactly the same as he did in a five-year-old picture. There was only one terrible thing I was beginning to be certain of. â€Å"You†¦ killed Kelly Hayes.† The fear in my chest intensified. I lifted my gaze from the blade to look into his eyes. â€Å"But surely†¦ surely not Melody†¦ or Tamara†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He nodded. â€Å"And Dina. But you wouldn't know her, would you? She was only human, and you don't keep track of human deaths. Only vampires.† It was hard not to look at the knife again. All I kept thinking about was how sharp it was and how close it was to me. One swipe, and I'd end up just like those other girls, my life bleeding away before me. I groped desperately for something to say, wishing again I'd learned the social skills that came so easily to others. â€Å"Tamara was your cousin,† I managed. â€Å"Why would you kill your own cousin?† A moment of regret flashed across his features. â€Å"I didn't want to – I mean, I did†¦ but, well, I wasn't myself when I came back. I just knew I had to be awakened again. Tamara was there at the wrong place and the wrong time. I went for the first Moroi I could get†¦ but it didn't work. That's when I tried the others. I thought for sure one of them would do it. Human, dhampir, Moroi†¦ none of them worked.† There was a terrible desperation in his voice, and despite my fear, some part of me wanted to help him†¦ but I was hopelessly lost. â€Å"Lee, I'm sorry. I don't understand, why you'd need to ‘try others.' Please put the knife down, and let's talk. Maybe I can help you.† He gave me a sad smile. â€Å"You can. I didn't want it to be you, though. I wanted it to be Keith. He certainly deserves to die more than you do. And Jill†¦ well, Jill likes you. I wanted to respect that and spare you.† â€Å"You still can,† I said. â€Å"She – she wouldn't want you to do this. She'd be upset if she knew – â€Å" Suddenly, Lee was on me, pinning me to the chair with the knife at my throat. â€Å"You don't know!† he cried. â€Å"She doesn't know. But she will, and she'll be glad. She'll thank me, and we'll be young and together forever. You're my chance. The others didn't work, but you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He trailed the knife's blade near my tattoo. â€Å"You're special. Your blood is magic. I need an Alchemist, and you're my only chance now.† â€Å"What†¦ chance†¦ are you talking about?† I gasped out. â€Å"My chance for immortality!† he cried. â€Å"God, Sydney. You can't even imagine it. What it's like to have that and then lose it. To have infinite strength and power†¦ to not age, to know you'll live forever. And then, gone! Taken away from me. If I ever find that bastard spirit user who did this to me, I'll kill him. I'll kill him and I'll drink from him since after tonight, I'll be whole once more. I'll be reawakened.† A chill ran down my spine. In light of everything, you would have thought I'd already be at maximum terror level. Nope. Turns out there was still more to come. Because with those words, I began to put together a fragile theory of what he might be talking about. â€Å"Awakened† was a term used in the vampire world, under very special circumstances. â€Å"You used to be Strigoi,† I whispered, not even sure if I believed it myself. He pulled back slightly, gray eyes wide and glittering feverishly. â€Å"I used to be a god! And I will be again. I swear it. I'm sorry, I really am. I'm sorry it's you and not Keith. I'm sorry you found out about Kelly. If you hadn't, I could have found another Alchemist in LA. But don't you see? I have no other options now†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The knife was still at my throat. â€Å"I need your blood. I can't go on like this†¦ not as a mortal Moroi. I have to be changed back.† A knock sounded at the door. â€Å"Not a word,† Lee hissed. â€Å"They'll go away.† Seconds later, the knock repeated, followed by: â€Å"Sage, I know you're in there. I saw your car. I know you're pissed off, but just listen to me.† Dingdong, distraction calling. â€Å"Adrian!† I screamed, jumping up from the chair. I made no attempt to disarm Lee. My only goal was safety. I pushed past him before he could react, heading for the door, but he was more prepared than I'd expected. He leapt toward me and tackled me to the ground, the knife catching me in the arm as I fell. I yelped in pain as I felt the tip of the blade dig into my skin. I struggled against him, only succeeding in making the knife tear into me more. The door suddenly opened, and I was grateful that I'd left it unlocked after letting Lee in. Adrian entered, coming to a standstill as he took in the scene. â€Å"Don't come closer,† warned Lee, pushing the knife against my throat again. I could feel warm blood oozing from my arm. â€Å"Shut the door. Then†¦ sit down and put your hands behind your head. I'll kill her if you don't.† â€Å"He's going to do it anyway – ahh!† My words were cut off as the knife pierced my skin, not enough to kill me yet but enough to cause pain. â€Å"Okay, okay,† said Adrian, holding up his hands. He looked more sober and serious than I'd ever seen. When he was settled on the floor, hands behind his head as directed, he said gently, â€Å"Lee, I don't know what you're doing, but you need to stop it now before it goes any further. You don't have a gun. You can't really hold us both here under the threat of a knife.† â€Å"It's worked before,† Lee said. Still keeping the knife on me, he reached into his coat pocket with his other hand and produced a pair of handcuffs. That was unexpected. He slid them over to Adrian. â€Å"Put these on.† When Adrian didn't react right away, Lee pushed on the knife until I yelped. â€Å"Now!† Adrian put the handcuffs on. â€Å"I'd meant them for her, but you coming by might be a good thing,† said Lee. â€Å"I'll probably be hungry once I'm reawakened.† Adrian arched an eyebrow. â€Å"Reawakened?† â€Å"He used to be Strigoi,† I managed to say. â€Å"He's been killing girls – slitting their throats – to try to become one again.† â€Å"Be quiet,† snapped Lee. â€Å"Why would you cut their throats?† asked Adrian. â€Å"You have fangs.† â€Å"Because it didn't work! I did use my fangs. I drank from them†¦ but it didn't work. I didn't reawaken again. So then I had to cover my trail. The guardians can tell, you know. Moroi and Strigoi bites? I needed the knife to subdue them anyway, so then I cut their necks to hide the trail†¦ make them think it was a crazy Strigoi. Or a vampire hunter.† I could see Adrian processing all this. I don't know if he believed it or not, but he had the potential to roll with crazy ideas regardless. â€Å"If the others didn't work, then Sydney won't either.† â€Å"She has to,† said Lee fervently. He shifted so that I was rolled onto my back, still pinned by his greater body weight. â€Å"Her blood's special. I know it is. And if it doesn't†¦ I'll get help. I'll get help reawakening, and then I'll awaken Jill so we can always be together.† Adrian jumped to his feet, full of a surprising fury. â€Å"Jill? Don't hurt her! Don't even touch her!† â€Å"Sit down,† barked Lee. Adrian obeyed. â€Å"I wouldn't hurt her. I love her. That's why I'm going to make sure she stays exactly the way she is. Forever. I'll awaken her after I'm reawakened.† I tried to catch Adrian's eye, wondering if I could pass some silent message. If we both surged at Lee together – even with Adrian cuffed – then maybe we had a chance at subduing him. Lee was seconds away from tearing into my throat, I was certain, in the hopes that†¦ what? That he could drink my blood and become Strigoi? â€Å"Lee,† I said in a small voice. Too much movement in my throat would result in a bite from the knife. â€Å"It didn't work with the other girls. I don't think the fact that I'm an Alchemist matters. Whatever that spirit user did to save you†¦ you can't go back now. It doesn't matter whose blood you drink.† â€Å"He didn't save me!† roared Lee. â€Å"He ruined my life. I've been trying to get it back for six years. I was almost ready for the last resort†¦ until you and Keith came along. And I've still got that last option left. I don't want it to come to that, though. For all our sakes.† I wasn't the last resort? Honestly, I didn't really see how any other alternative plans here could be much worse for me. Meanwhile, Adrian still wasn't looking in my direction, which frustrated me – until I realized what he was trying to do. â€Å"This is a mistake,† he told Lee. â€Å"Look at me, and tell me you really want to do this to her.† Cuffed or not, Adrian didn't have the speed and strength of a dhampir, someone who could leap over and disarm Lee before the knife could do its damage. Adrian also didn't have the power to wield a physical element, say, like fire, one that could be used as a concrete weapon. Adrian did, however, have the ability to compel. Compulsion was an innate ability all vampires had and one that spirit users in particular were adept at. Unfortunately, it worked best with eye contact, and Lee wasn't playing ball. His attention was all on me, blocking Adrian's efforts. â€Å"I made my decision a long time ago,† said Lee. With his free hand, he dabbed his fingers in the bloody patch on my arm. He brought his fingertips to his lips, a look of grim resignation on his face. He licked the blood from his hand, which wasn't nearly as gross to me as it would've been under other circumstances. With so much going on right now, it was honestly no more terrible than the rest and just rolled off of me. A look of total shock and surprise crossed Lee's features†¦ soon turning to disgust. â€Å"No,† he gasped. He repeated the motion, rubbing more blood on his fingers and licking it. â€Å"There's something†¦ there's something wrong†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He leaned his mouth to my neck, and I whimpered, fearing the inevitable. But it wasn't his teeth I felt, only the lightest brushing of his lips and tongue at the wound he'd created, like some sort of perverse kiss. He jerked back immediately, staring at me in horror. â€Å"What's wrong with you?† he whispered. â€Å"What's wrong with your blood?† He made a third attempt to taste my blood but was unable to finish. He scowled. â€Å"I can't do it. I can't stomach any of it. Why?† Neither Adrian nor I had an answer. Lee sagged in defeat for a moment, and I suddenly allowed myself to think he might just give up and call all this madness off. With a deep breath, he straightened up, new resolve in his eyes. I tensed, half-expecting him to say he was going to try to drink Adrian now, even though a Moroi – two, if you counted Melody – had apparently been on the menu of his past failures. Instead, Lee pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, still keeping the knife at my throat and preventing me from attempting any sort of escape. He dialed a number and waited for an answer. â€Å"Dawn? It's Lee. Yes†¦ yes, I know. Well, I have two for you, ready and waiting. A Moroi and an Alchemist. No – not the old man. Yes. Yes, still alive. It has to be tonight. They know about me. You can have them†¦ but you know the deal. You know what I want†¦ yes. Uh-huh. Okay.† Lee rattled off our address and disconnected. A pleased smile crossed his face. â€Å"We're lucky. They're east of LA, so it won't take them long to get here – especially since they don't care much about speed limits.† â€Å"Who are ‘they'?† asked Adrian. â€Å"I remember you calling some Dawn lady in LA. I thought she was one of your hot college friends?† â€Å"They're the makers of destiny,† said Lee dreamily. â€Å"How delightfully enigmatic and nonsensical,† muttered Adrian. Lee glared and then carefully studied Adrian. â€Å"Take off your tie.† I realized I'd spent so much time with Adrian now that I was ready for some comment like, â€Å"Oh, glad to know things aren't so formal anymore.† Apparently, the situation was dire enough – and the knife at my throat serious enough – that Adrian didn't argue. He'd handcuffed his wrists in front of him and, after some complex maneuvering with his hands, was finally able to undo the tie he'd donned for Jill's show. He tossed it over. â€Å"Careful,† Adrian said. â€Å"It's silk.† So, not completely devoid of snark. Lee rolled me over to my stomach, finally freeing me of the knife but giving me no time to react. With remarkable skill, he soon had my hands tied behind my back with Adrian's tie. Doing so required some pulling and restraining of my arms, which hurt quite a bit after the stabbing. He backed off when finished, allowing me to gingerly sit up, but an experimental tug of the tie showed that I wasn't going to undo those knots anytime soon. Uneasily, I wondered how many girls he'd tied up before in his sick attempt to become Strigoi. Weird, awkward silence fell as we waited for Lee's â€Å"makers of destiny† to show up. The minutes ticked by, and I frantically tried to figure out what to do. How long did we have until the people he'd called arrived? From what he'd told me, I'd guess at least an hour. Feeling bold, I finally attempted communication with Adrian, again hoping maybe we could covertly team up on Lee – even though our success rate had just become that much lower with both our sets of hands bound. â€Å"How did you even get here?† I asked. Adrian's gaze was fixed on Lee, still hoping for direct eye contact, but he did spare a quick, wry glance at me. â€Å"Same way I get around everywhere, Sage. The bus.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because I don't have a car.† â€Å"Adrian!† Amazing. Even with our lives in danger, he could still infuriate me. He shrugged and returned his focus to Lee, even though his words were obviously for me. â€Å"To apologize. Because I was a total asshole to you at Jailbait's show. Not long after you left, I knew I had to come find you.† He paused eloquently and glanced around. â€Å"No good deed goes unpunished, I guess.† I suddenly felt at a loss. Lee turning psychopathic certainly wasn't my fault, but it troubled me that Adrian was now in this situation because he'd come to apologize to me. â€Å"It's okay. You weren't†¦ um, that bad,† I said lamely, hoping to make him feel better. A small smile played over his lips. â€Å"You're a terrible liar, Sage, but I'm still touched you'd attempt it for my sake. A for effort.† â€Å"Yeah, well, what happened back there seems kind of small, in light of the current situation,† I muttered. â€Å"It's easy to forgive.† Lee's frown had been growing as he listened to us. â€Å"Do the others know you're here?† he asked Adrian. â€Å"No,† said Adrian. â€Å"I said I was going back to Clarence's.† I didn't know if he was lying or not. For a moment, I didn't think it would matter. The others had heard me say I was coming here, but none of them would have any reason to come seeking us. No reason, except the bond. I caught my breath and met Adrian's eyes. He looked away, perhaps for fear of betraying what I'd just realized. It didn't matter if the gang had known where I was earlier. If Jill was connected to Adrian, she would know now. And she would know that we were in trouble. But that was assuming it was one of the times when she could see into his mind. They'd both admitted it was inconsistent and that high emotion could bring it out. Well, if this didn't count as a highly emotional situation, I couldn't think what would. Even if she realized what was happening, there were a lot of if's involved. Jill would have to get here, and she couldn't do it alone. Calling the police would bring the fastest response, but she might hesitate if she knew this was vampire business. She'd need Eddie. How long would it take to get him if they were back in their dorms? I didn't know. I just knew that we had to stay alive because if we did, one way or another, Jill would get help here. Only, I no longer knew our odds of survival. Adrian and I were both confined, trapped with a guy who wasn't afraid to kill with a knife and who desperately wanted to become a Strigoi again. That was a bad combination, and it threatened to get worse†¦ â€Å"Who's coming, Lee?† I asked. â€Å"Who did you call?† When he didn't answer, I made the next logical leap. â€Å"Strigoi. You have Strigoi coming.† â€Å"It's the only way,† he said, tossing his knife from hand to hand. â€Å"The only way left now. I'm sorry. I can't be like this anymore. I can't be mortal anymore. Too much time has already passed.† Of course. Moroi could become Strigoi in one of two ways. One was by drinking the blood of another person and killing them in the process. Lee had tried that, using every combination of victims he could get ahold of, and had failed. That left him with one last desperate option: conversion by another Strigoi. Usually, it happened by force, when a Strigoi killed someone and then fed their own blood back to the victim. That was what Lee wanted done to him now, trading our lives to the Strigoi who would convert him. And then he wanted to do it to Jill, out of some crazy misguided love†¦ â€Å"But it's not worth it,† I said, desperation and fear making me bold. â€Å"It's not worth the cost of killing innocents and endangering your soul.† Lee's gaze fell on me, and there was a look of such chilling indifference in it that I had a hard time connecting this person before me to the one I'd smiled indulgently on as he courted Jill. â€Å"Isn't it, Sydney? How would you know? You've deprived yourself of enjoyment for most of your life. You're aloof from others. You've never let yourself be selfish, and look where it's got you. Your ‘morals' have left you with a short, strict life. Can you tell me now, just before you're about to die, that you don't wish you'd maybe allowed yourself a little more fun?† â€Å"But the immortal soul – â€Å" â€Å"What do I care about that?† he demanded. â€Å"Why bother living some miserable regimented life in this world, in the hopes that maybe our souls go on in some heavenly realm, when I can take control now – ensure that I live forever in this world, with all of its pleasures, staying strong and young forever? That's real. That's something I can put my faith in.† â€Å"It's wrong,† I said. â€Å"It's not worth it.† â€Å"You wouldn't say that if you'd experienced what I have. If you'd been Strigoi, you never would've wanted to lose that either.† â€Å"How did you lose it?† asked Adrian. â€Å"What spirit user saved you?† Lee snorted. â€Å"You mean robbed me. I don't know. It all happened so fast. But as soon as I find him I'll – ahh!† A yearbook is not the greatest of weapons, particularly one the size of Amberwood's, but in a pinch – and with surprise – it'll do. I'd noted earlier that I wasn't going to be able to undo the knots in the tie anytime soon. That was true. It had taken me this whole time, but I'd done it. For whatever reason, knot-making was a useful skill in the Alchemist curriculum, one I'd practiced growing up with my father. As soon as I was free of Adrian's tie, I reached for the first thing I could: Kelly's junior yearbook. I sprang up and slammed it into Lee's head. He cringed back at the impact, dropping the knife as he did, and I used the opportunity to sprint across the living room and grab Adrian's arm. He needed no help from me and was already trying to get to his feet. We didn't get far before Lee was right back on us. The knife had slid somewhere unseen, and he simply relied on his own strength. He caught hold of me and ripped me from Adrian, one hand on my wounded arm and one in my hair, causing me to stumble. Adrian came after us, doing his best to hit Lee, even with bound hands. We weren't the most efficient fighting force, but if we could just momentarily delay Lee, there was a chance we might make it out of here. Lee was distracted by both of us, trying to fight and fend us off at the same time. Unbidden, Eddie's lesson came back to me, about how a well-placed punch could cause serious damage to someone stronger than you. Sizing up the situation in seconds, I decided I had an opening. I closed my hand the way Eddie had taught me in that quick lesson, positioning my body in a way that would direct the weight in an efficient way. I swung. â€Å"Ow!† I yelled in pain as my fist made contact. If this was the â€Å"safe† way to punch, I couldn't imagine how much a sloppy one hurt. Fortunately, it seemed to cause just as much – if not more – pain to Lee. He fell backward, hitting the comfy chair in a way that made him lose his balance and collapse to the ground. I was stunned at what I had done, but Adrian was still in motion. He nudged me to the door, taking advantage of Lee's temporary disorientation. â€Å"Come on, Sage. This is it.† We hurried to the door, ready to make our escape while Lee shouted profanities at us. I reached for the knob, but the door opened before I could touch it. And two Strigoi entered the room.